101. The Knowledge of Offspring in the State of Innocence

1. It is in accord with human nature to acquire knowledge,not to be born with knowledge already in the mind. The fact thatman, at birth, is unequipped with knowledge, is not a defect; it isa normal condition of nature. In the state of innocence, childrenwould doubtless have had a perfect aptitude for learning withoutdifficulty, and would have acquired knowledge readily as theyadvanced in age and experience. But they would not have possessedknowledge from birth.

2. And therefore children in the state of innocence wouldnot havehad the use of reason from earliest infancy. Theywould have come to the use of reason more readily and perfectlythan do children in the fallen state of mankind.

"Obedience is a short cut to perfection." St Philip Neri

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"When the devil has failed in making a man fall, he puts forward all his energies to create distrust between the penitent and the confessor, and so by little and little he gains his end at last." St Philip Neri

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"A tree that is cultivated and guarded through the care of its owner produces its fruit at the expected time.
" St John of the Cross, OCD - Doctor of the Church